A gripping teen Western with a transgender protagonist.
The son of a recently deceased bull-riding legend, Chris Taylor is determined to make a name for himself on the rodeo circuit and give his little sister, Luce, a better life.
With his substance-abusing stepmother in a coma, 17-year-old Chris is separated from what’s left of his family as Luce is put in foster care and he is sent to live in an abusive boys home. Chris hides the fact that he is transgender, knowing he’ll be barred from bull riding if anyone finds out. However, Chris’ secret is just one of his problems. In order to graduate high school, go to college, and get himself and Luce out of their small Texas town, he’ll need to conquer bucking bulls, sadistic bullies, and a sheriff who is mysteriously out for his blood. The captivating, high-stakes plot with its larger-than-life villains verges on melodramatic—and that’s not a bad thing. Chris must learn confidence and trust in his friends as he grapples with sexuality, abuse, corruption, drugs, suicide, and grief. Some of the language around gender and an instance of deadnaming reflect the 1994 Texas setting. Behind an unappealing book cover, Kent has taken elements of Western, coming-of-age, and romance novels and combined them to create a touching yet exciting tale of a young man finding his way in the world. Characters present as White.
A gripping teen Western with a transgender protagonist. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63555-904-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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